31 March 2021 – On 31 March 2021, the Philippine Embassy in Singapore, together with the officials of the Department of Health, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of Presidential Protocol and the Singapore Embassy in Manila witnessed the signing ceremony of the Deed of Donation of one million pieces of surgical masks and the ceremonial handover of the twelfth batch of donations of high grade medical equipment in the form of dialysis machines (15 units Multifiltrate with CICA, 8 units Haemodialysis 4008S, and 16 units Haemodialysis AQUA C) to the Philippines, including the necessary supplies and accessories, amounting to approximately Php100M . This new batch of donations was made possible through the partnership of Filinvest Corporate City Foundation Inc., who shouldered the freight cost of approximately Php 2M, aimed at helping strengthen the Philippines’ public health care system in its fight against COVID-19. These new donations come on the first anniversary of the initial batch of donations from the Temasek Foundation of Singapore made in March 2020.
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Joseph del Mar Yap, and Madam Lourdes Josephine Yap, President and CEO of Filinvest Development Corporation, attended the ceremonial turnover of the latest batch of donations from the Temasek Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Temasek Holdings – the state sovereign fund of Singapore held at the Temasek Shophouse today. Also present at the ceremony were Messrs. Benedict Cheong and Gerald Yeo, CEO and Senior Director of Temasek Foundation International, and Consul General Adrian Bernie Candolada. Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Singapore Ambassador to the Philippines Gerard Ho, Chief of Presidential Protocol and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs Robert Eric Borje and Director Ma. Soledad Antonio from DOH also attended the ceremony via Zoom.
The Secretary of Foreign Affairs thanked the Temasek Foundation for their generous support and cited that this new gesture deepens further the Philippines’ friendship with Singapore. Secretary Locsin also recognized the tireless efforts of Ambassador and Mrs. Yap citing that they were doing “a great service to the country.”
For his part, Mr. Benedict Cheong stressed that the friendship between the Philippines and Singapore shall remain in the long-run. He also cited that as a responsible ASEAN neighbour, Singapore has an important role to play in securing the region against the pandemic. END